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    Quick Australian question

    Weird question, I know, but it is important to me at this very moment:

    Is the expression "can't see the forest for the trees" commonly understood//used in Australia? Or is there a more Aussie version of it (I dunno, can't see the desert for the sand, or something)

    Thanks!

    #2
    Quick Australian question

    Can't see the dunny for the spiders?

    Comment


      #3
      Quick Australian question

      And here's my quick Australia question:

      Is Australia a continent or a country?

      Comment


        #4
        Quick Australian question

        It's part of the continent of Oceania, encompassing New Zealand, Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

        Comment


          #5
          Quick Australian question

          Is it pronounced O-she-an-e-a or O-shan-e-a or O-shyan-e-a?

          Comment


            #6
            Quick Australian question

            Wikipedia (no less!) suggests that Australia is a country, and that Australia is a continent incorprating a few surrounding islands (Taz and Guinea)

            It then shows all manner of different versions of what the continents are.

            I think, it's not a universally agreed upon topic?

            Comment


              #7
              Quick Australian question

              I've always thought the 'island which is also a continent' thing to be a bit daft given we're all taught very early on that there are seven continents (including Antarctica), and New Zealand and all those other small islands must be on one of them.

              The best way I've heard it put is to say that Australia is the only country/island which is also the main continental landmass.

              And I was really hoping this thread was going to be about drop bears.

              Comment


                #8
                Quick Australian question

                "Europe" has always struck me as the oddest bit to claim "continent" status, given that it's really just a bit stuck out of the western edge of Russia, most of which is in Asia. If the Urals are meant to define it as something separate from Asia it's surely no more claim as a continent than India, which has got the more impressive Himalayas as its boundary?

                Comment


                  #9
                  Quick Australian question

                  Worn Old Motorbike wrote:
                  Is it pronounced O-she-an-e-a or O-shan-e-a or O-shyan-e-a?
                  The first one, as far as I know.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Quick Australian question

                    I thought it was "[b]owled, Shane!"

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Quick Australian question

                      Australia (or maybe Australasia, including New Zealand) is actually a continent. All the islands and bits and bobs floating around in the middle of the Pacific aren't on any continent. They're islands. Same as Iceland or Tristan da Cunha or Kerguelen or whatever.

                      The idea that every country can be assigned to a continent is a misunderstanding, because continents are great big whopping land masses, and the associated fragments off shore but largely on the same continental shelf. And some islands just don't fit into the category. Japan can be understood to be part of Asia because it's basically linked up through the Kuril islands. There's no reasonable way to suggest that Pitcairn, Hawaii, Kiribati and Australia are really the same bit of land mass. Oceania isn't a continent, it's a term to describe "All the shit that doesn't fit a category nicely, plus Australia which we feel is a bit small and sparsely populated to warrant being called its own continent."

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Quick Australian question

                        Meanwhile, ad hoc sits patiently...

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Quick Australian question

                          We've been in bed.

                          "Can't see the forest for the trees" is a commonly used phrase in Australia. I'm not aware of a local alternative.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Quick Australian question

                            ad hoc wrote:
                            Weird question, I know, but it is important to me at this very moment:

                            Is the expression "can't see the forest for the trees" commonly understood//used in Australia? Or is there a more Aussie version of it (I dunno, can't see the desert for the sand, or something)

                            Thanks!
                            I've only ever heard "can't see the wood for the trees".

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Quick Australian question

                              "Can't see for looking" is used here a fair bit. We do have some splendid forests here and have even stopped logging some of them. I'd agree with DR that the prhase is "can't see the wood for the trees".

                              My personal Australian sayings favourite is "drier than a Nun's nasty" - used to express an extreme desire for a beverage, normally an alcoholic one.

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Quick Australian question

                                Yeah, that's one of my favorites.

                                Also 'mad as a cut snake'

                                Comment

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